Close friend of missing Ligonier woman speaks out after she was found dead: ‘My heart’s broken’

WESTMORELAND COUNTY, Pa. — A close family friend of a Westmoreland County woman found dead Tuesday is desperate for answers. Amy Shipley, 45, was last seen more than a week ago in Ligonier.

“Amy, she had a big heart,” Tiffany Tobias said. “She was sweet. She was fun, always laughing, always having a good time.”

>> Missing Ligonier woman found dead during search

Tobias has known Shipley for nearly 30 years.

“My heart’s broken,” she said. “When we’d go to the beach together, we had a great time, all night long just laughing and giggling. She was a great person. She really was. She had a big heart. She’d do anything for anybody.”

Tobias was devastated when detectives made the disturbing discovery Tuesday night, 10 days after Shipley went missing. Less than 24 hours later, Westmoreland County officials said the body found behind an abandoned home along Helens Lane in Cook Township was that of Amy Shipley.

“I just cried. I just cried...because deep down I didn’t want to believe it, but you get that feeling of like it’s going to be, but you don’t want it to be,” said Tobias. “I just got chills all over my body and just stood there.”

Shipley, a mother and grandmother, was last seen on Sept. 8 near West Vincent Street in Ligonier. Her body was discovered more than nine miles away.

County officials are now working to figure out the circumstances surrounding Shipley’s disappearance and how she died.

“I still can’t quite process it,” Tobias said.

While Tobias still processes what happened, she says she’s left with a big hole in her heart.

“Amy was a great person. She didn’t deserve this,” she said. “It’s just not fair that she’s gone. It’s just not fair.”

The district attorney’s office said a criminal investigation is now underway. Anyone with information about Shipley’s disappearance is asked to call Westmoreland County detectives.

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